Fuel for Thought

  In the fall, our fuel oil supplier advised, during the annual cleaning, that they had determined that our fuel oil tank was in such poor condition that it needed to be replaced.  A device that measures the thickness of the metal had registered that the tank was too thin for safety purposes, that it had rusted from the inside and the rust had undoubtedly accumulated at the bottom of the tank. It was not safe to fill, so a "Do not fill" order was imposed on our poor and hazardous oil tank.  The price quoted for replacement with a new tank and removal of the old, after pumping out the remaining oil, was $2595 minus a $200 good customer credit.  We had already prepaid our estimated oil usage of $2350, so we had to act.  We learned it was better to use up most of the contents; the tank was about half full, so we had some time, but we did not want to take a chance that the tank would spring a leak, as we were told was quite probable, given its condition.  If the oil leaked out onto the floor of the basement, the entire concrete floor would have to be removed and disposed of, at great expense.
   We got a quote from a local company of $1350, or "No more than $1400," so we hired him to do the job, and paid $1550, including tax.  In order to get our fuel delivery accomplished in view of the "Do not fill"  order, we were told the driver/ delivery person would first have to inspect the tank before he could fill it, to make sure it was safe.
  On the day of delivery, the driver knocked on the door and asked to inspect the tank.  I showed him to the cellar, and told him there was a light near the tank so he could see to inspect it.  He said "No, it's okay, I can see that the gauge reads full, so you're all set."  We had let the oil run low before we replaced the tank, so I was surprised to hear the tank was full.  When I asked him how that could be, he said he'd already filled it.  Since the gauge read full, he knew that it wasn't leaking.  Duh??